October is one of my favorite months of the year for many reasons, including that today we have the opportunity to celebrate, “the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples” during Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A perfect day to share that the Frazier will be offering a free teacher training session on November 15, 2022 titled “Teaching Kentucky’s Native Story”.

During the 3-hour evening session, educators will have the opportunity to meet a range of experts to deepen their understanding of Kentucky’s story, learn to distinguish facts from myth regarding Kentucky’s Native People, and discover resources for broadening their knowledge-base to support their important work with students.

The beginning of the evening will be guided by A. Gwynn Henderson, Education Director at Kentucky Archaeological Survey, and LaDonna Brown, Historic Preservation Officer of the Chickasaw Nation and consultant to the Frazier History Museum for The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall exhibition. Afterwards, educators will join the public for a panel discussion in the museum’s Brown-Forman Theatre to consider questions such as: What tribes were here? How did they live and what happened to them? And what about current day in Kentucky and beyond, and the stories still unfolding?

Although the Let’s Talk: Bridging the Divide public program, “Kentucky’s Native History”, is at capacity - those who are interested may learn more, or add their name to the waiting list. Local teachers who would like to sign up for the free professional development session do not need to sign up for the adjacent public program separately, but may read more or make reservations here.

During this brief video, Frazier Museum Curator, Amanda Briede, shares an introduction to the Native American section of The Commonwealth exhibition.

Continue reading to learn about this evening’s collaborative mental health program STOP THE STIGMA, more on the passing of a country music icon, a glamourous new artifact in the Cool Kentucky exhibition, and more.

And don’t miss out on our very next article where Simon Meiners shares an overview of the book “Kentuckians Before Boone.” This account of the lives of one Native American family in central KY during the year 1585 was written by A. Gwynn Henderson – one of our expert presenters at the upcoming teacher training.

Megan Schanie
Manager of School & Teacher Programs
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

Off the Snead Shelves: Kentuckians Before Boone by A. Gwynn Henderson

William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway had their newborn twins Hamnet and Judith baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Kongolo Mwamba founded the Luba Kingdom in the marshy grasslands of the Congo River Basin. A convent in Spain gifted Japanese visitors some chocolate.

All these events occurred in 1585.

So what, a Frazier Weekly reader might ask, were people doing that year in Kentucky?

In her 1992 book Kentuckians Before Boone, author and archaeologist A. Gwynn Henderson attempts to answer this question—using what evidence is available.

She pulls from two types of sources: first, the descriptions of Native American groups in the eastern United States that contemporary Euroamerican traders and visitors—some of whom had been held captive by Native Americans—provided in written accounts; and second, the information collected from archaeological sites in Kentucky, including sites in Bourbon, Clark, and Greenup counties.

To be clear, the book is a work of fiction. But it offers readers a glimpse of the day-to-day lives of Kentucky residents—Fort Ancient men, women, and children—in the autumn of 1585. (Henderson chose that year because it was roughly 150 years before the birth of Daniel Boone.)

In the fictional central Kentucky village—a settlement of 500 inhabitants located in a clearing surrounded by fields of corn and forests—people from six different clans occupy some twenty-five houses.

Henderson introduces specific characters and follows their activities. Fishes-With-Hands of the Raccoon clan is the brother of the village chief; his wife She-Who-Watches is from the Hawk or Deer clan. They live with their four sons (and three daughters-in-law), two daughters, and nine grandchildren in a bark-covered rectangular house under a shady tree along a river bank. They grow all their crops together nearby: corn, beans, squash, gourds, sunflowers, and tobacco.

What readers may enjoy is how mundane the activities depicted are: Flies-Alone pounds corn kernels to make hominy meal; two laughing boys trailed by barking dogs chase each other past drying racks and over smudge pits; healer Bright-Horn treats a bleeding wound with cobwebs; Steals-Corn equips a hickory arrow to hunt a bobcat; At-Night sets log and sapling traps for mink and beaver.

Although the book is only fifty-eight pages long—it is part of the New Books for New Readers series, a project the Kentucky Humanities Council and other organizations spearheaded as a way to promote adult literacy—it offers valuable insight into the lives of Fort Ancient Kentuckians.

If you’d like to see objects from early inhabitants of Kentucky—including spears, drills, awls, projectile points, and sewing and tattoo needles—visit our permanent exhibition The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall.

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

“Stop The Stigma” Program Tonight on World Mental Health Day

In case you didn’t know it, today is World Mental Health Day.

And tonight at 6 p.m. at the Frazier History Museum, we will have an open conversation about what that means to all of us, the struggles we all face, and how we can “Stop The Stigma” surrounding mental health.

There is room for you tonight as we engage in open and honest conversation with a panel of local experts, here is the link to sign up for the free program.

The Frazier History Museum has partnered with 91.9 WFPK for tonight’s program that also features musician Jessica Willis Fisher, coming in from Nashville.

She will be sharing her personal story of abuse, something she has written about in her book Unspeakable. She will also play music from her new album Brand New Day.

We hope you will join us for Stop The Stigma on World Mental Health Day so we can talk, listen to some music, and together share a little healing.

Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement

Remembering “Kentucky Girl” Loretta Lynn

“[Loretta Lynn’s] career and her songs reflect the conflicts of a changing South perhaps better than any other currently popular female country singer,” author Dorothy Horstman wrote in 1975, fifteen years into Lynn’s six-decade career.

Born in 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, an isolated Appalachian enclave approximately 200 miles from the Frazier’s doors, Loretta Webb grew up in a place where community banded together in radical ways to fight the pervasive poverty in coal country. This spirit made its way into the truth-telling of her music. Her lyrics touched on topics which were taboo at the time, from divorce and double standards (Rated X) to birth control (The Pill) to the challenges of the draft at the height of the Vietnam War (Dear Uncle Sam). Loretta Lynn catapulted to fame despite the fact that nine of her songs were banned from country radio.

An icon for half a century, the Country Music Hall of Fame refers to her as a “standard-bearer.” In 1976, she released her autobiography Coal Miner’s Daughter, and the film adaptation won Sissy Spacek (who had spent months with Lynn to capture her speech patterns and mannerisms) an Academy Award for Best Actress. Lynn recorded a huge body of work, including the second album to be completely written or co-written by her, Van Lear Rose, which was produced by Jack White in 2004.

You can see (and hear!) Loretta Lynn in our Cool Kentucky exhibit, where we pay homage to one of Kentucky’s musical legends.

Heather Gotlib
Manager of Youth & Family Programs

Cool Kentucky: New Miss America Dress on Display from Heather French Henry

We are excited to share the arrival of Heather French Henry's gown from the 1999 Miss America Pageant when she was crowned as Miss America 2000.

This beautiful, ivory and gold gown was special-made for Heather and was the final gown she walked in before the crowning ceremony.

The gown replaces Heather's black talent gown that has been on display for the past two years. In the collections world, rotating artifacts allows them to "rest" from exhibit lighting. Even though we adjust lights to artifact-approved levels, removing them from display lighting after an extended period of time is essential for basic collections care and preservation. This is especially true in the case of clothing or textiles that can fade more easily and often have greater light sensitivity than other kinds of objects.   

Below, our preparator Nick Cook carefully installs the dress into its display case with help from the rest of the team.

Visit us soon to see this lovely gown up close and explore all the stories in Cool Kentucky.

Hayley Rankin
Manager of Collection Impact

New Performance The Runaway on Steamboat in Commonwealth

Here’s a reminder that the Frazier is offering a short performance about the Underground Railroad in Kentuckiana on Saturdays.

Believe it or not, in the early 19th century, the city of New Albany was a hotbed of activity for the clandestine passage, where enslaved persons freed themselves from chattel slavery and would stop along the way, from time to time, to rest, supply themselves, and receive further instructions from freedmen and sympathetic whites on where best to go to next on their journey. Our presentation is an historic dramatization of what a journey might have been like for a runaway had they made an escape from the waterfront of Louisville to the shores of New Albany, across the Ohio River.

“The Runaway” will take place on Saturdays in situ on the Enterprise, the replica steamboat located in our Commonwealth exhibit on the 2nd floor. The total run time will be 5-7 minutes. The experience is free to museum members, and guests with paid admission to the museum.

Brian West
Teaching Artist

Upcoming Program: Hopping into Shakespeare with Rabbit Hole

Welcome to a world of wonder and discovery! The staff at Frazier History Museum were so fortunate to be able to choose a barrel of Rabbit Hole Cavehill Bourbon that will be sold exclusively to our members and guests. What makes it extra special is that every bottle is adorned with one of six original, dreamlike pieces of art by collage artist, Beppe Conti. His work combines different digital techniques and analog elements while mixing vintage images, textures, and colors to create beautiful and surreal images. For these particular bottles, Rabbit Hole founder Kaveh Zamanian commissioned Mr. Conti to offer his interpretations of William Shakespeare's plays through a contemporary lens. The artist said he "was inspired by magical surrealism, a modern — dreamlike reinterpretation of the works of William Shakespeare".

The liquid in the bottles is also a work of art. Cavehill is one-of-a-kind, four grain triple malt bourbon. Malt is said to be the most important ingredient in whiskey because it provides flavor, color, body, and alcohol. For this expression, Rabbit Hole used three different malted grains; malted barley, honey malted barley, and malted wheat. The bourbon is then aged in new oak barrels that are toasted over a wood fueled fire for 20 minutes before they're charred, adding another layer of caramelization and flavor.

If the art, the Bourbon, or both interest you, then please join us on Wednesday, October 26 for Hopping into Shakespeare with Rabbit Hole. An evening of cocktails, tastings, and a Q&A with distillery founder, Kaveh Zamanian. He'll answer questions and talk about how he went down the Rabbit Hole in search of something authentic and unique in his quest to make his fabulous bourbons.

Attendees will be given the opportunity to buy a randomly selected bottle, which also comes with a complementary matching poster. The event is from 7:00-8:30, but doors open at 6:00 to give guests an opportunity to mingle and see some of the Frazier History Museum.

To view bottles and purchase tickets, click here. I hope to see you there!

Haley Hicky
Product & Program Manager

2022 FRAZIER CLASSIC FUNDRAISER MOST SUCCESSFUL EVER!

On Friday, September 30, the Frazier hosted the seventh annual Owsley Brown Frazier Classic Sporting Clay Tournament at its new location, The Sporting Club at the Farm in New Albany, Indiana. For the second year in a row, the Florence Farm team reigned supreme as tournament champion. After a morning of friendly competition, the teams enjoyed a catered lunch of barbeque, craft beer, and Kentucky Bourbon.

In another first, thanks to Lewis & Grant Auctions, an incredible auction selection of Kentucky Bourbons, experiences, and hand-crafted items were made available to the public online. The auction was a great success because of those who generously donated: Bluegrass Game Calls, Bristol Catering, Evan Williams Distillery, Florence Farm, Heaven Hill Brands, Kentucky Peerless Distillery, William Lewis, Limestone Branch Distillery, Elizabeth and Matt McCall, Mark Nethery, and Woodford Reserve Distillery. The bidding was fierce, and we thank all of you who participated and those of you luckily enough to win these unique items.

To make this fundraising event the best it can possibly be takes nine months of preparation, hard work and attention to detail from a dedicated committee and volunteers. Led by Committee Co-Chairs Larry Lowe and Matt McCall, this year’s committee of David Baughman, Kevin Borland, Jon Dill, Charles Farnsley, Cordt Huneke, Matthew Kannady, Bill Lewis, Mark Nethery, and Jerry Stamler created a memorable experience for all.

The day would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors: iAmmo, Kentucky Farm Bureau, Lewis & Grant Auctions, Republic Bank, Vaughn Petitt Legal Group, PLLC, Oxford Rhine Real Estate, and Private Cloud Architects. Our in-kind sponsors were key to a successful event, so thank you David Baughman, Mark Nethery, Ted’s Cigars, Kentucky Monthly, Yellowstone Bourbon, and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.

The event raised over $90,000, which will support the Frazier’s exhibits, events, and educational programs.

Bridging the Divide

Baird Urban Sports Park

Need a place to play ball downtown? I think we may have the answer thanks to a partnership through Louisville Downtown Partnership, Metro Parks & Recreation, YMCA and Baird. The RePurposed site has been repurposed and you’re invited! Read the invitation from Louisville Downtown Partnership below.—Rachel Platt, Director of Community Engagement

The Baird Urban Sports Park, located at 615 W. Main St., is now open to the public for Free Play on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10AM – 2PM through mid-November. We are excited to transform and activate this space where the public can participate. The Pickleball courts and Wiffle ball field will operate on an as available basis. The Pickleball nets will be up, we just ask players to bring their own equipment. Whether you are a Pickleball or Wiffle ball enthusiast or a casual player, we encourage everyone to play, speculate, or just enjoy this unique Downtown experience!

Museum Store: Pickleball Vibes Tote

Pickleball vibes are pretty good vibes. This tote is perfect for holding a couple of paddles and pickleballs and letting people know you enjoy the fastest growing sport in the US! Pick up the tote in our gift shop for $46.

History All Around Us

Remembering Evelyn Glass (1918-2022)

What a life, What a legacy.

Evelyn Glass had a special place in history, and a special place in our hearts at the Frazier History Museum.

She was 104-years old when she passed away last week, and we want to make sure everyone knows the name Evelyn Glass, and everything she stood for.

She wore those white boots while standing up for fair housing in Louisville, marching against segregated lunchrooms, and taking part in demonstrations for public accommodations.

Her boots were on display in our exhibition What is a Vote Worth? Suffrage Then and Now. She was an activist in every sense of the word. She was also a barrier breaker, becoming among the first African American Nurses with her sister-in-law in the late 1930’s in Louisville.

She was a fixture in the Chickasaw neighborhood, living there for more than 60 years. When she turned 102-years old during COVID in 2020, dozens of us showed up in her yard to sing Happy Birthday to this city treasure.

Cheri Bryant Hamilton, a friend of Evelyn’s, emailed me with the news of her passing. She also sent me several pictures, and I included the group photo taken last year that had Evelyn smiling, sitting at a table with her boots, and her beloved family and friends including Cheri.

Those boots were made for walking, and for change. A tiny boot that left one giant imprint on Louisville.

Thank you, Evelyn Glass.

To hear more about her amazing life, listen to the interview my sister Pam conducted with her 2 years ago. And please listen until the very end for “We Shall Overcome.”

Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement